


Adventurer's Guild Spinoff: Unlikely Allies

by VicarDicar



Series: Adventurer's Guild spin-offs [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-25 04:54:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21571126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VicarDicar/pseuds/VicarDicar
Summary: In the midst of combat, anything could happen. Local lumberjack Keith Aghast decides to take on a bandit problem terrorizing his peaceful city all by himself. He finds bandits to be the scum of the earth, yet what awaits him at the entrance of their hideout may change his view forever..
Series: Adventurer's Guild spin-offs [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1555321





	Adventurer's Guild Spinoff: Unlikely Allies

**Author's Note:**

> hello,
> 
> this is the first time i'm ever publishing a story online. it's a spinoff of a story I've wanted to work on for a long time - the "Adventurer's Guild".
> 
> I wish to improve, so if you have any notes on what I can do better, please tell me!
> 
> I hope that we can be friends!

Ironheart Mines, the local mines around these parts. True to its name, it’s chock full of valuable iron ore that blacksmiths are willing to pay a hefty price for. However, the perceptive may find that the only people that have entered the mines lately are only bandits. Why? Simple: They made the mines their own hideout, scaring others who aren’t part of their crew. They’ve been a real problem lately; several citizens here have reported being harassed multiple times.

Normally, these kinds of problems are dealt with by the Adventurer’s Guild, the association that takes care of any and all problems. They’re like our guardian angel. However, the guardian angel’s been known to be low on manpower, and it’s not hard to assume that a small problem like bandits in an isolated town isn’t top of their priority as of now.

Here, everyone knows basic combat knowledge to defend themselves, but no one has actually went up to the mines and confronted the bandits yet. When I asked around, nobody wants to deal with them. I’ll have to go solo, then.

I’m Keith Aghast. I work as a lumberjack for my town, Vilarose. The pay isn’t much, but honest work is honest work. I moved to this town recently to avoid the hustle and bustle that my previous city forced me to handle. I’m really glad I did. It’s really peaceful here, and the local folk are some of the nicest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. Hearing of bandits messing with them makes my blood boil.

Grabbing my trusty sword hanging from my wall, I headed out to the mines, not too far away from where I live.

I’ve had to deal with pesky bandits and annoying slime attacks back at my previous city. I didn't really receive proper sword training; I'm self-taught. My sword work should be fine, though. I hope. I don't want to enlist into the Adventurer's Guild; I don't need training and I sure as hell don't need to deal with problems globally.

Anyways, here I am, the entrance to the Ironheart Mines. Nothing too special about it. A short set of stone stairs leading up to wooden doors straight to the inside of the mines. A couple of wooden supports are placed outside the doors to ensure there’s no caving in.

I spot a bandit in leather armor patrolling the entrance. Lowly bastard. What kind of person do you have to be to harass such a peaceful town?

My anger gets the best of me, and I head straight towards him.

The bandit spots me, and puts his hand out.

"Hey, you're not one of us. Back off.”

His words fall on deaf ears as I continue to walk towards him.

"Are you deaf? Stop!" He shouts with an annoyed expression on his face.

"I'm not taking flak from some lowly bandit." I say, continuing my advance.

“Come closer to me and say that to me again.” He exclaims, his hand gripping the handle of his axe. He glares at me with an intent to kill should I not follow his words. Looks like he’ll need to be prepared for a fight.

I brandish my sword and stand my ground.

“If you’re looking for death, you found it!” The bandit takes out his axe and charged towards me with a swing!

I barely dodge the hit. He moves quickly, and hits hard too.

I retaliate with a swift slash, cutting the side of his other arm.

“Argh! Bastard!” He angrily shouts in pain, swinging his axe fiercer and more rapidly.

My vision is covered in flashes of his steel as I barely manage to block.

I run back down the stairs to get myself away from him and catch my breath. Not before long, he catches up to me.

Our weapons clang and we both exchange blows for quite a while. I manage to get a few scratches on his arms and chest, but he’s gotten closer and closer to hitting me everytime.

I don’t know how long I can fend off for. Did I make a mistake thinking I could deal with this myself?

The bandit lets out a battle cry and goes for a strike to my chest.

I attempt to back off from his slash, but I was too late! He manages to get a hit on me, and I feel the sharp pain immediately.

I back off and try to examine the damage.

“Got ya!” The bandit proudly exclaims.

I pant for a bit. I use my off hand to feel the wound and I see my fingers dripping with blood.

I look at the bandit and ready myself to swing another blow at him. We seem to share similar intents.

I don’t have much strength left with this wound on my chest, I’ll have to use what I have left and finish him off with my next strike!

I rush towards him, and he follows suit.

He’s leaving his legs unguarded, and his axe isn’t nearly big enough to block a surprise swing there in time. If I can manage a hit, I can immobilize him and finish him off for good!

As we get closer, I ready my sword..

And…

Wait.

We both stop in our tracks. A sound echoes throughout the woods. We hear it. Howling.

We took a moment and just stared at our environment.

We can hear it. The movement of footsteps on the grass, the rustling of bushes.

Wolves. A pack of them.

One emerge out of the trees and looks at us menacingly.

Soon, two more follow up. 

The clanging of our weapons and our shouting might have attracted them.

Or maybe… the scent of our blood dripping from our wounds?

The bandit and I look at each other. We’ve used up most of our strength already, running isn’t an option.

We give each other a nod, and we prepare ourselves for an attack.

The wolves let out one more howl before charging straight at us.

I pick a wolf and immediately swing at it. I manage to get a hit, but it wasn’t deep.

The wolf I hit starts to circle around me before unhinging its jaw and unleashing a bite at my arm.

I manage to move away my arm in time and tried to counter with a hit of my own, but the wolf’s movements are quick.

I try another slash. Miss.

The wolf decides to go for a lunge towards me again. It’s swift, but I manage to barely dodge.

Ah! By lunging at me, it left itself wide open to an attack! I quickly take advantage of the opportunity and swing it, heavily damaging the pesky little thing!

The wolf stumbles for a bit, walking around slowly. However, it’s still able to fight! It charges at me, probably its final attack. I ready myself.

Wait for it…

Wait for it….

Now!

I dodge its bite and return a swing back at it, this time bringing the wolf down for good!

The wolf is unable to take the hit. It struggles to stand up for a while, before finally giving in to its injuries.

I take a breather. One wolf down, two to-

Shit. Wait. The bandit. The bandit’s taking care of two wolves by himself.

I need to he-

Huh?

Metallic noises? From where?

Something’s rolling down the stone stairs. Is that..

..A bloodied axe?

Oh no..

I reluctantly look up and try to see where that axe dropped from..

Blood. Lots of it. The two wolves are injured but still have energy left in them, and beside them..

A mauled up bandit.

Fuck…

The wolves turn their gaze to me, snarling.

He.. Why didn’t he call for help?

He stood his ground instead of running, and because of me, he..

…

I can’t focus on him now. I need to take care of the wolves.

The bandit gave them quite a thrashing; they’re heavily injured.

One blow to the each of them should do the trick.

The two wolves charge at me at different directions. Shit, I can’t anticipate both wolves at once.

I set my eyes and target one wolf first.

It's charging at me. I need to time my swing and..

A hit! The wolf falls shortly after my hit lands.

Alright, now where is-

Argh! Fuck! The other wolf got a bite on my sword arm!

I punch it with my off-hand repeatedly, ignoring the pain from my injuries.

The wolf lets go of my hand, and I try to get a few swings at it, but it misses.

The excruciating pain from swinging my arm gets to me. I need to focus. Bear with the pain for now, that wolf has to go down.

Where is it? I closed my eyes to focus on the sounds of the surroundings. Maybe I can try to hear it.

Something is moving and shaking the grass at accelerated speed. It's..

..right behind me!

I turn around quickly and make a well-placed swing, directly hitting the wolf! The wolf’s body propels forward due to the momentum of its lunge, then stays motionless.

Finally. Victory. I put my sword down and took a seat on the grass.

These wolves, they’re unlike the slimes back at the city. These things are ferocious. Dangerous. Much harder than I anticipated. I would have died if it weren’t for that bandit. Wait..

The bandit.. What was he thinking, dealing with two wolves on his own? He could have called for help. I expected a bandit like him to turn tail and abandon me, but he stood by his word..

"...Hey, knight." I hear a weak voice let out. The bandit's still alive?

"...You did it. A couple of wolves are no match for the likes of us, huh?"

I look towards the bandit, and quickly run up to his side.

Oh fuck, he’s still alive! But, not for long..

Poor bastard. Sustained several injuries thanks to the bite of the wolves. And of course, some were inflicted by me…

"What's with that sad look on your face?.." He ponders, before coughing out blood.

I stare at him, unnerved.

I can’t just let him die like this. I carry his severely injured body up and try to run to Vilarose.

“..What are you doing.”

“Getting you some help!” I shout to him, limping whilst carrying his body.

“Stop. We both know that you don’t have the strength to carry me back.”

He’s not wrong. I can barely walk.

“Put me down. I’m not gonna die bleeding on a stranger’s arms.”

I gently put his body back down on the grass and catch my breath again.

I try to reason with him. “I can’t just leave you to die here.”

“Yes you can.” He replies. “You don’t have a choice.”

"Medic! We need a medic over here!"

The bandit looks at me with a dumbfounded look.

"Please! Anyone? Please, we need a medic.."

I cry out to the wilds, ignoring the fact that I'm far away from any kind of help.

"PLEASE, I NEED A FUCKING ME-"

"Enough. Save your breath." The bandit says, putting his hand on his chest as he tries to breathe.

“But-”

“No.”

I stare at him blankly.

"God, I.." I say, stumbling.

I grit my teeth for a moment. Fuck.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"Hey, it's alright." He says, heavily panting. "What's done is done."

An overwhelming feeling of guilt and shame washed over me.

I look at him in his miserable state, and can't help but let a few tears run down my eyes.

"Wait!" I quickly spout. "Do you have anything to share to your next of kin? Any gifts to a loved one? Anything you need to pass on before you-"

"Nope. Nothing. I've been alone for quite a number of years. No parents, no children, no loved ones... no anything."

“Wait..” I asked. “Why’d you turn to the life of a criminal?”

He stared into the distance, and was silent for a bit.

…

…

“A man came up to my house one day. Somehow knew that I was low on gold. Offered me a hefty sum of gold and promised more if I were to join his crew. Considering I was barely scraping by already, it was a no-brainer.”

“Thought that if I could just get enough pay, I could leave without ever getting caught. Look at me now.”

“...”

“...I brought this upon myself. Being alone wasn’t an excuse to do this. Joining this bandit army wasn’t out of being desperate; it was out of greed.”

He turns his head away from me, almost out of shame.

“When we agreed to attack the wolves, I thought maybe I could redeem myself by at least making sure you walk out of here alive.. And here we are.”

“..Thank you. I’m so sorry for everything.” were the only words I could let out.

“Enough moping, you’re making ME feel sad.” He exclaims, coughing out a bit of blood as he does.

“Before I die, I want to make sure I get everything out of the way.”

“You saw what happened to me, so you better make sure no one else turns out like me. Get some proper training too. Could try the Adventurer’s Guild.”

The guild, huh..

“Also, work on your emotions. You’ve just met me and you’re already mourning me. Knights can never let emotions get the better of them, you got that?”

“You got a lot of potential, knight. I believe in you.”

“Now..” The bandit looks up at the sky

“My time is up.”

“Huh?” I asked. “Wait, I-”

“Enough.”

As much as I want to argue with him, he’s right.

He’s…

..

“Hey, knight.”

“You made my last moments quite a thrill. Thank you for that.”

“Maybe.. I’ll… see you..”

“...Again…”

The bandit slowly closes his eyes. He’s right. No more mourning.

I dug up a hole and gave the bandit a proper burial. I grabbed his axe and headed to Vilarose.

The Adventurer’s Guild… For you, friend. I'll enlist.

I hope you rest well.

I will never forget you.


End file.
